Introduction
This game really took me by surprise because I thought that columns would be a game only for the Sega GameGear.
Turns out that Columns GB is actually a reprogrammed game from Sega's 1990 version. Media Factory reprogrammed
this game for the GameBoy Color in 1999 and added characters from the famed anime artist Osamu Tesuka who also
has his own limited edition GameBoy units (see here, and here).
The late Osamu Tesuka is the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Unico and more. He was the one who started
drawing all his characters with oversized eyes so that they can express emotion and this "anime-eye"
quality can still be found in today's cartoons.
Astro Boy is considered by many to be the granddaddy of Japanese animation. If you're interested, the show is about
Dr. Boynton, a scientist whose son was tragically killed in a car accident. In order to escape his grief, Boynton
created a robot in his son's likeness. Naming his creation Astro Boy which is a variation of the child's real name,
Astor Boynton, he then equipped "him" with a variety of superpowers and basic human emotions. Despondent
over the fact that his “son” would never grow up, Boynton eventually gave the "boy" away to Dr. Elefun
who later encouraged the boy to use his powers to protect the innocent against all evildoers. Much later, the good
doctor even built Astro Boy a sister, appropriately named Astro Girl.
Gameplay
So much for that... now on with the game which is actually really simple and fun - for a while that is. It's your
typical columns game where you're required to match 3 or more of the same gems so that it disappears making space
for more in groups of 3s that make their way down. You can rearrange the position of the gems as they fall and
the object of the game, like Tetris, is to have as many rows of cleared gems as you can. Again like Tetris, the
game ends when all the gems on screen reach right to the top.
If you find that too simple, then forget the classic mode and go for the puzzle mode with which there are 8 stages
for you to clear. In puzzle mode, there is already a pile of gems at the start of the stage. What you must do with
one move is clear them all. It's not that difficult and since the game has a choice of difficulty levels, you can
always choose one which suits you best.
Columns GB has a battery back-up so your game can be saved for later play. There's even a high score list for you
to gauge your progress.
Final Comments
Although Anime is slowly making waves in America, Astro Boy is still very
much a Japanese icon. That's why this game isn't released in the US or Europe yet. I am not sure if it'll ever
get there but if you're interested, then it's all right to import this cart because the game requires no reading
of any manual. It's simple and straight forward. If you're worried about in game menus, it's also in English so
no worries there either.
Gameplay is rather repetitive and unless you like tetris-like games, like me, you will find it boring. The background
scenes don't change and the background music, well, it's nothing to rave about. I'd say it's a game for relaxing
by the pool or something. So unless you're an Astro Boy fan, I'd give it a miss. It's probably not worth the money
you're going to have to pay to import it. I like Astro Boy and still, I thought it to be a waste of money after
playing it for 2 days. |
